EU and the US reach 'umbrella agreement' over data protection

The European Union and the United States have finally come to an agreement on how to protect data that is shared between the two unions for law enforcement purposes.

This agreement, seen by Reuters, marks the end of four years of negotiations, which have been moving fairly slow, thanks to a particular right US citizens enjoy, but EU citizens do not.

According to a report by E&T, the talks were held up because of the lack of a right for non-resident EU citizens in the US to go to US courts to challenge the misuse or unlawful disclosure of their data.

US citizens enjoy this right in the EU.

European Commission has reportedly said that the agreement cannot be formally concluded until EU citizens get "right to judicial redress" in the US.

The chief negotiators are expected to initial the text at meeting in Luxembourg on Monday or Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter, which would signal the end of talks.

In March, U.S. Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner introduced the Judicial Redress Act, aimed precisely at giving citizens of U.S. allies the right to sue over data privacy in the United States.

The document says the bill appears to have received bipartisan support, and if passed would restore trust in frayed trans-Atlantic relations after allegations of mass U.S. spying emerged in 2013, Reuters concludes.

The international relations between the US and a number of countries, including Germany and Brazil have been ruined after it was revealed in 2013 that the US spied on these countries.